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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. stock — goods
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. bore — to drill
  9. press — a publisher
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. chest — a box
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. cap — of ice
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — clever
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. scale — size or range
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. press — newspapers
  21. cap — a lid
  22. scale — in music
  23. toast — bread
  24. press — to push

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com